Quilting Machines

I would like to know if anyone has the Brother PQ 1500s quilting machine. If you do is it a good machine
for quilting? Is it big enough for a Queen size quilt? Which place would be the best place to buy it at.Amazon.com or Allbrands.com or Worldweidner.com has anyone had any dealings with any of these places? Any information would be appreciated.

Don't have one, but alot of people use this machine to quilt their quilts here on the board, and love them. I have purchased from allbrands alot, very nice company to deal with. I has a 9 inch harp so you should be able to do a queen sized with no problem. Some people use them on frames as well like a shortarm

I too have been looking at this machine. I'd like to get it to put it onto a frame. The one feature it doesn't have (or at least I couldn't find it listed in the specs) is the needle up/down feature. I really want a machine that can stop with the needle down for quilting.

I bought my Brother from AllBrands.com and 3 mos after the warranty was up started FMQ on it. The feed dogs wouldn't re-engage. AllBrands walked me through several things then sent me to a place near me where they already knew all about the machine & my problem & told us they were under orders from the head office of Brother to call them when it was apart. They honored that part of the fix! I love AllBrands & their customer service is top notch!!

I have the Baby Lock Jane which the shop told me is a Brother 1500. It is set up on a frame so can only quilt a small area at a time. It is very limiting. No quilting designs inside large blocks as you only have about 4 in to quilt at a time.
It has a very involved threading sequence but it does have needle down.
So far have not done much on it but what I have done is a mess, this takes a lot of practice. I will only do meandering with it for a while. I bought a 4 inch ruler and will mark my quilt across with a 4 in area so I dont run out of room.
I wish it was easier to thread and the bobbin is a real hassle and runs out of thread quickly, maybe 2 rows on a lap size quilt. I did get a stitch regulator for it and love it but it was expensive, $500.

I have the Brother PQ 1500s on a Gracie II frame. It is more of a challenge on the frame but using it off the frame it is real smooth. On the frame it is more sensitive, and a bit of adjusting may be needed, such as, tention and quilt height. Once the adjustments are good, it is smooth. I only have a 4" - 5 1/2" work area, so there is a lot of rolling. When FMQ on the table there is a bigger playing field. I decided on the Brother because of the local dealer for future service. - I bought mine new at a sewing expo from a local vender. Got the show price. I think, $600. Then 9 months later I found one on Craig's list with a frame for my sister and she got the pair for $400. If I have the oppertunity to get another one used, I will concider it. One for the frame and one for the table.

I am interested in buying another machine also. I've been looking at the janome 6600 or the Ellna excellence (price $1400 for either). Now I understand that both these machines are the same , and made by the same people. I haven't researched the brothers PQ 1500 machine, but I will. And I'm going to look on Ebay.
Quilters, should I just consider waiting until I can buy a long arm? I priced a Tin Lizzie 18 sitdown for $3995. This is way out of my range at this time, and I don't understand quilting on a long arm well enough to spend this amount of money.
I would need to practice much much more. Presently I'm great quilting in the ditch and any type of lines,such as diagonals.

I am interested in buying another machine also. I've been looking at the janome 6600 or the Ellna excellence (price $1400 for either). Now I understand that both these machines are the same , and made by the same people. I haven't researched the brothers PQ 1500 machine, but I will. And I'm going to look on Ebay.
Quilters, should I just consider waiting until I can buy a long arm? I priced a Tin Lizzie 18 sitdown for $3995. This is way out of my range at this time, and I don't understand quilting on a long arm well enough to spend this amount of money.
I would need to practice much much more. Presently I'm great quilting in the ditch and any type of lines,such as diagonals.

I recently bought a used 6600 and love it. The throat space is large enough to fmq a king sized quilt, am currently working on one 98x96 and almost done! Lots of room for quilting and basic sewing. Lots of deco stitches and even a basic alphabet for simple wording. I don't regret buying it at all.